Gerald P. Corcoran

Gerald Paul Corcoran, 84, died on January 20, 2008 at Lake Winona Manor in Winona, MN.Jerry's life was filled with laughter and love and we have been blessed to be with him. He was a big man with a big and open heart, and is now with his God in Heaven. Born in Witoka, Minnesota, he grew up in the countryside around Ridgeway, Money Creek, Paradise Valley and Fremont. As a young man he was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps working on crews in Fergus Falls and Lake City. His World War II Navy career was spent aboard the newly commissioned Destroyer USS Massey (DD 778), which served in the Pacific Theatre. On January 27, 1948 he married the love of his life, the petite and pretty Mary Leoba Patzner Corcoran on a day so cold the roses froze solid between the car and the church. After early marriage years in the Winona/Lewiston area, they lived in Hokah, Minnesota where he was a bricklayer and cement mason. Following Hokah, they farmed near Lewiston Minnesota where he was also a masonry contractor. Jerry loved to fish, play golf, play cards, visit with friends and family, and through his enormous spirit and great good humor gathered wonderful people around him. He was always willing and more than able to lend a helping hand wherever he was needed. He was everywhere a valued parishioner and family man. We are all the better for knowing and loving him. He was an unusually skilled bricklayer and stone mason; a hard worker, fast and efficient, and his life's work supports and graces 100's of homes and commercial buildings around the area. In his prime, he could lay 1,000 brick in a day's work. Mary and Jerry retired from farming to Winona in 1987 when Jerry pretended to retire from bricklaying. Finally in 2000, he said it was the first time in 20 years that he hadn't 'wet a trowel.'Mary and Jerry loved to travel and drove through the 48 contiguous United States, all in the same car, and mostly for USS Massey ship's reunions which he and lifelong friends initiated in 1989. In between they made religious pilgrimages to Yugoslavia, Portugal and Argentina, as well as leisure travel to Alaska, Hawaii, Jamaica, Canada and the Panama Canal.Jerry was preceded in death by his parents George and Helena (Lena) Buchholz Corcoran, his brothers Thomas and William Corcoran, and his sisters Margaret (Don) Golish, Winifred (Bill) Kiral and Lucille (Roy) Hoover, and other siblings who died in childhood during the flu epidemic.He is much missed by his loving wife and friend of 59 years, Mary Leoba Patzner Corcoran, and their children and grandchildren: Patricia Halverson; Francine Corcoran; Gregory and Roberta Corcoran and their children Hannah, Louis and Caleb; Bernard and Debbie Corcoran and their children Diana, Ajalon and Renee; Theresa Corcoran; Christopher and Linda Corcoran and Chris' daughters Megan and Chelsea; Mary Jane and Jeffrey Scherbring and their children Katie Corcoran, Collin, Jessica and Sarah Scherbring; and Lisa Corcoran.A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Stanislas Kostka Catholic Church on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008, at 11:00am with the Reverend Thomas J. Hargesheimer officiating. Friends may call at Hoff Funeral and Cremation Service Hansen Goodview Chapel on Tuesday from 4-8:00pm and also one hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. Military Honors will be conducted outside the church on Wednesday following the service by the American Legion of Winona. At his request, he will be cremated following the service. Burial is at the churchyard at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Lewiston, Minnesota, where, for bartered work, his headstone awaits.Please share a memory of Gerald with the family or view his video tribute at: www.hofffuneral.com
Tribute video can be found at: videos.lifetributes.com/?id=13793